In 2012, Rhode Islanders bilked of $1.2 million in online scams / Poll

Saturday

Sep 14, 2013 at 4:00 PM

From romance fraud to auction schemes to identity theft and fake car dealerships. A total of 731 residents lodged complaints with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, a federal database that tracks complaints throughout the nation

By Katie Mulvaney

PROVIDENCE — Rhode Islanders reported losing roughly $1.2 million last year through Internet scams that range from romance fraud to auction schemes to identity theft and fake car dealerships.

A total of 731 residents lodged complaints with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, a federal database that tracks complaints throughout the nation. A year earlier, Rhode Islanders reported $2.1 million in losses.

One resident lost $223,000 in 2010 in an auction fraud –– the highest loss in the state for the year. Another person lost $125,000 in 2009 in a romance scam. A year before that, the top loss was $40,317 for a Nigerian letter scheme.

Rhode Islanders are reporting Internet scams with regularity, according to Sgt. Staci K. Shepherd, who oversees the computer crimes unit for the state police. Embarrassed victims are often reluctant to come forward, and do so only at the prodding of their families.

In one instance, a man from an affluent community arranged to purchase a luxury car over the Internet for “$50,000 to $100,000,” only to learn he’d been scammed, Shepherd said. Investigators tracked the source of that scheme overseas.

Women — usually 40 to 50 in age — report being wooed over the Internet. They send money for the romancer to visit and end up being stood up at the airport, Shepherd said.

“These people play on vulnerabilities,” she said. “They are textbook in how they do things.”

The state police have also received complaints from people who believe they are arranging a rental and arrive at their vacation getaway to find a family at home, she said. That scam, too, has been traced out of the country.

“What it boils down to is if it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” Shepherd said. The police declined to identify the complainants.

Other schemes include emails purporting to be from law-enforcement agencies that demand money after child pornography was allegedly found on a person’s computer.

If the crime is emanating from within Rhode Island, the police will track the accused down and pursue prosecution, she said. Otherwise, they report the crime to the appropriate authorities out of state or overseas, she said. They work with Craigslist and other Internet sites to take down fraudulent postings, she said. “We try to stop the victimization.”

Shepherd remains optimistic that criminals, particularly those operating from outside Rhode Island, will ultimately be held responsible for their crimes. “I do believe they will get caught,” she said.

Shepherd’s advice? She urges people to slow down, particularly if they encounter a deal in which they are being urged to pay money quickly or risk losing out.

“Anywhere people are putting themselves out there, they are potentially victims,” Shepherd said.